Hidden Nightmares
by alishagyt
Summary: Gaara wakes up to a nightmare about his deceased uncle, Yashamaru. His nightmare begins to become reality as he runs into a girl named Asayo and his world is about to become a living hell. GaaraxOOC


_Gaara……Stop it……Stop hurting us…..Stop hurting me……Gaara…..Gaara……**GAARA!**_

Gaara woke from his nightmare, sweat dripping from his forehead onto the ebony sheets adorning his bed. He looked to his right to see his brother Kankuro snoring loudly. Keeping his angry/blank stare, he lifted a fist. Sand began swarming around the puppeteer and with a wave of Gaara's hand, it all piled on top of Kankuro.

"GAH!" Kankuro woke with a fright, looking this way and that until spotting Gaara. "What the heck was that all about!" he yelled.

Gaara glared at his sibling. "You woke me up."

Kankuro had a puzzled look plastered on his face. His eyes squinted as he responded, "Woke you….?"

The red-haired shinobi said with a killing intent, "You _woke_ me _up_."

Seeing his error, Kankuro quickly grabbed his blankets and said, "I'm going to sleep on the couch. That'll keep me from waking you up, right Gaara?"

Gaara kept quiet, leering as the puppet master slowly walked backwards out of the room, closing the wooden door behind him.

Laying his head back on his pillow, Gaara thought about the nightmare of his past. "Yashamaru….," he whispered quietly.

Temari was the first of the triplets to wake up. She yawned, cupping a hand to her mouth and stretching an arm high in the air. Slowly, she crawled out of bed and headed into the kitchen, ready to prepare a meal for her two brothers. But mostly for Kankuro, too lazy to even grab a soda for himself. Gaara, on the other hand, barely ate. Even though he's sixteen with the one-tailed tanuki removed from him, he still acts as he used to. Secluded. Isolated. A complete psycho.

_This time he'd better eat what I make… _thought Temari. She took out a rusted pot and a large bag of white rice. Filling the pot halfway with water, she waited for it to boil, adding rice when ready. After a few minutes, many other ingrediants fell in, also. Soon after, it was ready. Reaching in her pocket, she pulled out a small fan, waving it over the pot and spreading the delectable scent throughout the house, hoping that her brothers would wake from their sleep to eat.

Kankuro was the first to emerge from around the corner. His hair was dishevled and his boxers were protruding from his pants slightly. His eyes were squinted and there was a small amount of drool on his face. He yawned and muttered, "What smells so good?"

"Over here, baka," teased Temari, banging her wooden spoon against the pot. "Now have a seat, shut up, and eat."

The grumpy puppeteer growled slightly, but sat down anyway. He grabbed a pair of chopsticks across the table and ripped them in two. "Ouch...," he said when he snapped them the wrong way, resulting in a painful splinter.

Grinning at her foolish brother, she turned her attention to her youngest sibling. He had just emerged from his room, fully dressed except for the gourd. His hair, unlike Kankuro's, was neat and well kept as usual. His face was still the same glare as usual, too.

"Good morning, Gaara-kun. Breakfast?" Temari asked, handing Gaara a plate of food.

Gaara blinked twice before denying her offer. "I'm not hungry." was his reply.

Temari sighed. He would never give in no matter how hard she tried. _Darn you Gaara…denying my food… _she thought, grasping her wooden spoon so tight that her knuckles turned white. "Alright, Gaara-kun. Maybe some other time…"

The red-headed shinobi just stared at her and said, "….yeah…." before walking out the door.

Being the Kazekage didn't seem all that Gaara had once thought. It was a lot of paperwork. Most of which he never completed because it "annoyed" him. There was a lot of people who complained, but never directly to Gaara for fear they'd be killed. They'd always get someone close to Gaara's status to explain to him what the people of Kazegakure needed.

Today, there were no complaints. No people in his office. Everyone was gone. Wondering why, Gaara wandered his comrades' offices only to find each one empty except for a little note reading, "On holiday." The red-haired shinobi frowned. Holiday? What Holiday was today that was so important all of his people who helped him with his duties had to leave? Confused, Gaara sought out a nearby calendar one of the people had at their desk. "Keiro no Hi (Respect for the age day)". Gaara blinked. Everyone must be visiting old reletives and family at this time.

Shaking his head, Gaara decided to go for a stroll, seeing that there was no duty for him to partake in at his office. As he stepped outside, a cool breeze enveloped his senses. He felt somewhat sleepy with the autumn air surrounding him. Wandering through the town, he spotted young children pointing and saying "It's the Kazekage! Suna no Gaara! (Gaara of the Sand)" The red-head stared at the children and patted them on the head as he walked by. He never knew he'd get so much attention, having a bad reputation when he was younger and all….

Suddenly, he stopped. He looked down to see a young boy tugging at his clothing, his thumb in his mouth. "Umm….Mr. Gaara, sir….," he started. "Umm…..er….What's it like being the Kazekage?"

This made Gaara think a little. Trying to find a good word, he replied, "Eventful."

The nighttime breeze of Kazegakure ruffled the cloak of the wander. She kept her tan hood securely on her head, making sure it wouldn't fly off, revealing her true self. She stepped through the piles and piles of sand until she arrived at the gates clearly stating "Kazegakure".

She kept silent, pushing her way through the doors. No one payed any attention to her. Suddenly she stopped in front of a small bar. Looking it over, she carefully took a seat, asking the bartender for some water. Just water. But she was unaware of the person watching her…

Gaara was right next to her in the bar. They were barely an inch apart. The red-haired shinobi stared into his glass of water, looking at the reflection of the girl beside him without actually looking at her. His face showed no emotion as he continued staring into the glass. Somehow, he was unable to see her face.

_Who is she?_ he thought. Seeing her finish her drink, she got up and began walking through town again. When she was a little ways away, but was still in view, Gaara got up as well, planning to follow her.

Walking silently a little ways behind her, Gaara noticed that she was heading to a dead end in a deserted area. His eyes narrowed when she stopped.

"Can you please stop following me?"

Gaara shifted his feet in a stance that he used when fighting. "I was just curious. I've never seen you here."

Still not turning around, the girl replied, "That doesn't give you the right to stalk me." She started shivering, but placed a cloaked hand on her shoulder to calm herself. "You'd regret it."

Gaara frowned. "I highly doubt that," he said.

A small breeze tickled both of their outfits, ruffling them slightly.

"Tell me who you are and why you're here."

The girl stayed silent and turned around slowly. "Now, why would you want to know that?" she said, taunting Gaara.

The red-headed shinobi's heart thumped loudly in his chest. Something was wrong about this girl. Gaara's throat tightened and he asked again in a more serious tone, "Who are you?"

Lifting her hands to her hood, the girl replied, "Well, you asked."

Gaara gasped.

_Ya…Yashamaru!_ Gaara's head felt as though it would explode. Both hands clutched his head as he began shaking uncontrollably. "No….no….." He started laughing. "That can't be Yashamaru….I killed my uncle years ago….this can't be….can't be…..can't….."

He felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up. Instead of seeing Yashamaru, he saw the face of a girl. She had shoulder-length black hair and glittering blue eyes. "_Now _what's wrong? You psycotic or something?" Her joke seemed to be surprisingly accurate.

Gaara shook his head, clearing his thoughts. "No…," he said, picking himself up. "It was just a……headache." Of course that was partially true. That daymare had given him quite a scare including a throbbing pain in his noggin.

"My name is Asayo. Just Asayo." She looked at Gaara intently with curiosity. "You?"

Gaara blinked. "My name is Gaara." This woman was giving him these strange chills every time she looked at him. _But who is she? _he thought.

Asayo stared at Gaara, not knowing what to say. "So….."

Somehow, out of the blue, words just tumbled out of Gaara's usually shut mouth. "You seem alone. You can stay at my place while you're here." Gaara stopped and thought. Did he just say that? He could've sworn….

Before he could withdraw his offer, Asayo accepted it. "Umm….sure. There's not really any other place to stay and hotels give me the creeps." She laughed. "Anyway, where do you live?"

Sighing inwardly, Gaara started walking, leaving Asayo behind.

"Wait….where are you going?" she asked, confused.

Gaara turned his head back towards her. "I'm going home. You'd better keep up or get lost."

Asayo frowned. "Talk about rude," she murmured, starting to follow.

Hearing the girl's comment, Gaara smiled.


End file.
